1991 GT Krakoram Elite

[gtturbo]

Truth be told I'm not a huge GT fan. A mate has a Xizang which is nice but they never really floated my boat. However the other day I was taking to my older brother who is recovering from knee surgery and he said he wanted a bike to help with his rehab. Back in the late 80's, early 90's, he was pretty into his riding and racing and we both use to regularly do a Sunday ride in the Surrey hills with Jamie Tatlow and the lot from Moto Sport (now Beyond Mountain bikes) in Cranleigh. Back then we had an older friend who was the type of person who would forever be upgrading which meant a steady stream of discount bikes for my brother an I. My brother had a 89 Rockhopper comp and then a 89 Team Marin and me well I got the best deal and got his Pace RC100 which I still have to this day. Although it hasnt been ridden in years as I tend to favour my modern bikes. Anyhow I agreed to find something for my brother to gently pootle about on and scouring the internet I came across an unloved 1991 GT Krakoram Elite and figured it was kind of in keeping with what he was use too. As it was local a deal was done and the bike brought home for a bit of work. Now as it's going to be a rider I haven't gone mad on this but it surprising how good its come up with a bit of elbow grease and some T cut and autosol. I will let the pictures do the talking. Ignore the modern'ish saddle, I have the original but its got a slight rip so rather than make it worse I've kept that. Original bar's had been cut down so again removed and stored away and some wider bars from an old Klein Pulse I had fitted in their place. The deal is my brother gets the bike for as long as he wants but gives it back to me when he is finished as I know what he is like and it will end up down the tip otherwise. The original DX sti's had been changed for some low rent shifters so I had a set of Deore II thumbies and brake levers so thought they would be fairly in keeping with the bike. Aside from that it was pretty much original, even the rear tyre although knackered, the only other changes being some Aztec brake blocks and the front tyre. It's going to have slicks fitted but I couldn't help throwing a set of tan walls on for nostalgia. The night sky paint job seems to divide opinions in my household. Not a big fan personally but it is definitely better in bright light when the paint is more blue rather than the green it appears in low light.

 

[Janners BJJ Clunker Rider]

Looking nice.
Janners

 

[retrobikeguy]

Re:

Great bikes, bought one new when they came out and I loved it, the night sky paint was the selling point to me plus it was only about £60 more from the std karakoram for a full dx groupset . had about four of them so far just for nostalgia, sadly they just dont agree with my elderly back anymore as they seem quite long in the larger sizes.

Still a great bike to me tho

 

[gtturbo]

Re:

Few more pictures for anyone interested.

 

[gtturbo]

Re:

Shake down ride completed. Time to say goodbye to this one for the time being as it's off to my brother to use. But that means there is room for it to be replaced with something else.

 

[MR OX]

Re:

That's one tidy cycle I have a frameset the opposite end of the scale hung in the garage
Always nice to make space for a new one

 

[CTK]

Lush

 

[gtturbo]

Just to add to this thread. My brother still has the Karakoram elite but along came a 91 Karakoram and I couldn't say no. After a bit of love it ended up like this.

Thought it would be cool to get a picture of both when I get the elite back. However I got a deal on a Dogs Bolx I couldn't refuse so the Karakoram is now sold. Still, putting the pic here for reference.

 

[ShaneInCanada]

Re:

Great bikes, bought one new when they came out and I loved it, the night sky paint was the selling point to me plus it was only about £60 more from the std karakoram for a full dx groupset . had about four of them so far just for nostalgia, sadly they just dont agree with my elderly back anymore as they seem quite long in the larger sizes.

Still a great bike to me tho

agreed, I have one with less than 50km on it & in pristine condition. Small frame but seems long